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Amboseli Trust for Elephants FY2020 filing

Tax-deductible

Newbury, MA501(c)(3)Animals EIN 20-1321920Revenue $646K in FY2020Latest return filed Sep 12, 2025

On file with the IRS10 State St, 01950-6604 · Newbury, MATax-exempt since Sep 2004Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Research and preservation of African Elephants

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
78¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$136K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $261K a year · 25% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
78%
of spending
Looks good: 78% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$136K
to officers and key staff · 25% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 25% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.5 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
10
named funders · $489K
Looks good: 10 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5K
0.8% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 13 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 13 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$646K
Spent
$537K
To programs
78%
Net assets
$694K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$646K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$646K
FY2021$1.2M
FY2022$592K
FY2023$871K
FY2024$1.9M
Expenses
$537K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$537K
FY2021$878K
FY2022$712K
FY2023$852K
FY2024$977K
Net assets
$694K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$694K
FY2021$1.0M
FY2022$694K
FY2023$688K
FY2024$1.7M

From the FY2020 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

990 PDF Claim
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 2004.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 78% · $419K Management & general 12% · $63K Fundraising 10% · $54K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

13 people listed on the 990; $136K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Betsy Swart
Exec Dir
$87,894Pt VII · Sec A
Cynthia Moss
Program Dir
$47,911Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
David Breskin
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Elizabeth Swart’s $107K as Executive Di is at the 50th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1137 $1–10M animals nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Elizabeth Swart$107,425$102,717$99,425——
Betsy Swart———$92,288$87,894
Cynthia Moss$58,558$55,991$54,197$50,307$47,911

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Researches and preserves African elephants.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $419K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

The organization relies on public support solicited through the website and mailings. The organization is researching and working on the conservation and the ethical treatment of the African Elephants Special Projects include: DNA Project, Maasai Study, Elephant Cognition Project and the Scholarship program for Kenyian students.

$419Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
African Elephant Conservation TrustFY2024$200K
Ac & Jc FoundationFY2024$75K
The Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal Family FoundationFY2024$75K
Conservation Society of CaliforniaFY2024$70K
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFY2024$27K
Neo Philanthropy INCFY2024$10K
The Maue Kay FoundationFY2024$10K
East Bay Community FoundationFY2024$10K
Total grants receivedfrom 10 funders$489K
See all 10 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$646K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$643K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Money outPt IX
$537K
Ln 25
Programscol B$419K
Managementcol C$63K
Fundraisingcol D$54K
Owns and owesPt X
$694K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$289K
Total assetsLn 16$699K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
PeoplePt VI, VII
13
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a13
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$643K
Investment incomeLn 3$3K
Total revenueLn 12$646K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$289K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$289K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$206K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K
Total assetsLn 16$699K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
Net assetsLn 32$694K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 52
VolunteersI 610
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3More from this return
EndowmentSch D · Pt V
LineFY20FY19FY18FY17FY16
End of yearLn 1g$4.6M$4.6M$4.3M$4.4M$4.1M
Given inLn 1b$50K$50K$67K$61K
SpentLn 1d–1f$424K$412K$156K$170K
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$187K$289K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$142K$206K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3K$3K
Total assetsLn 16$532K$699K
LiabilitiesLn 26$4K$5K
Net assetsLn 32$528K$694K
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$270K$270K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$136K$77K$29K$29K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$7K$2K$2K$2K
Payroll taxesLn 10$10K$6K$2K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$21K$0$21K$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$30K$30K$0$0
Office expensesLn 13$4K$1K$2K$819
Information technologyLn 14$4K$1K$1K$1K
TravelLn 17$6K$3K$0$3K
InterestLn 20$7$0$7$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$1K$0$1K$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$6K$2K$1K$3K
All other expensesLn 24e$41K$26K$2K$13K
Total functional expensesLn 25$537K$419K$63K$54K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Sep 12, 2025 $1.9M$977K$969K$1.7M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Sep 24, 2024 $871K$852K$19K$688K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 8, 2023 $592K$712K−$120K$694K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 $1.2M$878K$329K$1.0M 990 PDF
FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 11, 2021 $646K$537K$109K$694K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support F · Foreign O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $645,994 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $586,390$643,377
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $2,426$2,617
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $588,816$645,994
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $328,500$269,596
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $151,236$152,824
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $153,413$114,183
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $633,149$536,603
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$44,333$109,391
Part VI · Governance 11 of 13 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body13
VI-1b Independent voting members11
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $645,994 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1d Related organizations$200,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$443,377
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$643,377
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$2,617
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $2,617 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$645,994
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $536,603 across 13 lines filed
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $269,596$269,596
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $77,209 · Management $29,298 · Fundraising $29,298$135,805
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $2,210 · Management $2,210 · Fundraising $2,210$6,630
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $5,907 · Management $2,241 · Fundraising $2,241$10,389
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $21,281 · Fundraising $0$21,281
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $30,000 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$30,000
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,429 · Management $2,100 · Fundraising $819$4,348
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $1,489 · Management $1,490 · Fundraising $1,490$4,469
IX-17 TravelPrograms $2,903 · Management $0 · Fundraising $2,652$5,555
IX-20 InterestPrograms $0 · Management $7 · Fundraising $0$7
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $0 · Management $1,312 · Fundraising $0$1,312
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $2,052 · Management $1,314 · Fundraising $2,532$5,898
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $25,995 · Management $2,107 · Fundraising $13,211$41,313
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $418,790 · Management $63,360 · Fundraising $54,453$536,603
Part X · Balance sheet $698,826 assets, 9 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $200,000; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $186,637$289,391
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,248$3,356
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $142,119$206,079
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $532,004$698,826
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $3,963$5,302
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $3,963$5,302
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $528,041$693,524
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $528,041$693,524
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $532,004$698,826
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $693,524 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$645,994
XI-2 Total expenses$536,603
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$109,391
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$528,041
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$56,883
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$791
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$693,524

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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